Spice it Up with Mostly Mexican — Best of the Blogs - Dinner Tonight - Cooking

Spice it Up with Mostly Mexican — Best of the Blogs

No Comments | Written on September 5, 2012 at 9:00 am, by Bill Sertl

We can’t hold onto the summer sun forever — and there’s not a thing the kids can do about having to go back to school this week — but there is something you can do to spice up dinner after the kids get home. And some of our favorite blogs are more than willing to oblige with these fantastic Mexican and Southwestern dishes that you can throw together for an entire fiesta.

We love the Salsa Verde Chicken Recipe we found, as well as this great recipe for easy Everyday Tacos. As for what to serve with them — that’s easy: Try this great Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Black Beans and/or an exotic Savina Habanero Slaw. (We know that habaneros are among the hottest peppers around, so no worries here about getting the spice level up.)

But not every dish has to be Mexican. Nor even that hot. That’s why we’ve thrown in a beautiful recipe for Chicken with Kale and Almond Pesto (hurry, though, while there’s still enough fresh basil in the garden) from a favorite site devoted to Italian cooking. And this dish still delivers enough of a kick. (P.S. It’s also so pretty, you’ll want to serve it for company, again and again.)

Of course, no trip around the spicy world would be complete without a stop in Asia. And we’ve found a recipe for Taiwanese Noodles with Meat Sauce that’s especially great because it comes with a video demonstration.

Ring in the school year with these spicy dishes the whole family will love. But make sure the homework’s done first or no second helpings.

Good (Cheap) Eats are what we like, and this site lives up to its name with this quick and easy Salsa Verde Chicken recipe. So much fun with so little fuss. There’s still time to get the grill out to give this chicken a nice over-the-flame taste.

Good (Cheap) Eats

For this Southwestern Quinoa Salad with Black Beans, Corn & Peppers, from The Garden of Eating, we couldn’t help notice that the ingredients are healthy and packed full of nutrients — starting with the Andean grain, quinoa. But don’t forget the goodness of beans, corn, and juicy peppers.

The Garden of Eating

The Proud Italian Cook has come up with a dish that we think is as fun to make as it is to serve: Kale and Almond Pesto with a Little Bit of Heat. You bet, we want a little heat (from red chilies), but what really gets us here is the sheer elegance of this chicken dish.

Proud Italian Cook

You know you’re in for a hot time when the dish you’re making is Savina Habanero Slaw. The habanero pepper packs a lot of heat, but this dish gets cooled off with either crema mexicana or crème fraîche — a fancy edition to what’s sure to become a favorite side from A Communal Table.

A Communal Table

Okay, our Italian pesto chicken is kind of fancy, and you might have to search to find some of the ingredients for the habanero slaw. Enter this recipe for Easy Tacos from the website Ingredients, Inc. This dish might as well have “weeknight dinner” spelled out in neon salsa across the top.

Ingredients, Inc.

Ah, this dish is so much fun to make. For starters, it’s a bit exotic if you’re not familiar with Asian cuisine. But thanks to the video from the blog Steamy Kitchen, we have no trouble making this recipe for Taiwanese Noodles with Meat Sauce Recipe (Taiwanese Spaghetti!)